


The Only One

by MultiverseQueen



Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Action & Romance, F/M, Fights, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-12
Updated: 2015-04-09
Packaged: 2018-03-17 12:02:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3528674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MultiverseQueen/pseuds/MultiverseQueen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sarah Ford, special agent for MI6, knew everything about every international security threat. Everything. Her task was to provide intelligence on the Avengers, thankfully her old friend Natasha Romanov would be her way into the team. Little did she know this would   be the first time she failed and her last mission ever.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Hello, old friend...

The man at the desk opened her profile and read:

"Sarah Jane Ford,  
Born: November 11th 1989, Hertfordshire, England.  
Joined MI6 at 13, finished full training at 14, graduated from Oxford University in economics and global politics as well as a Masters in psychology at 19.  
Active agent since November 23rd 2008

Record: ALL MISSIONS COMPLETED"

Sarah tried to hide the small smirk that threatened to plaster itself on her lips at the impressed look on the man's face. When she had come through the small black door of 10 Downing Street, he had obviously underestimated the agent that had been recommended for the job. In all fairness what made her blend in as well as she did as an agent was the fact that she was the sweetest looking woman you could imagine. She was on the small side of average height, her slender figure hid her strength really well so attackers would never imagine the punch she could pack. Her face was beautiful, dusted with small freckles, framed by long brown curls. Her eyes were sapphire blue, surrounded by long eyelashes that made every woman jealous and had a trusting look which allowed people to trust her quickly. Their mistake.

"I guess you're the lady for the job Ms. Ford. Here's the file and we'll expect a full report when you are collected. Have a nice day!" he said as Sarah took the folder and left the building quickly, wanting to get back home so you could book your tickets to New York City. Reading through the assignment Sarah knew she would have it easy, Natasha Romanov ("The Black Widow") was a friend from a long time ago; she smiled thinking about the last time Tasha and her were together. "Budapest" she sighed smiling.

Having arrived at the bottom of the Avengers Tower, Sarah told the receptionist to call on Natasha Romanov. "Who wishes to contact her?" asked the receptionist in a professional tone, "Tell her its Anna Karenina".

**Sarah's POV**

The receptionist quickly showed me to the elevator, she looked extremely alarmed probably because of Tasha's reaction to my code name. She spoke into the elevator, trying to smile at me when she motioned for me to go in alone. "JARVIS please take Ms. Karenina to the Avengers floor". I knew about the IA from previous reports so I was completely at ease in the elevator as JARVIS greeted me and started the elevator upwards. 

The elevator door open with a light ring and I was immediately in front of the full Avengers team in casual clothes with Nat front and center devilishly grinning at me; everyone but us both were tense trying to figure out what was actually happening. I finally extended my arms and hugged Natasha. Gosh I had missed her so much. "Hello, old friend." I said softly as she unlocked herself from me and spoke in mock anger "Who are you calling old?" we giggled instantly. 

"Haven't seen you since..." Natasha paused pensive until both of us gasped and said in sync "Budapest!". Tasha and I exploded in giggles as Clint's face blushed, huffing he left the room as the rest of the team stared at us both. "What the HELL happen in goddam Budapest?" exclaimed Sam flustered and frustrated after being left out of this joke for a year now, he did not know that the whole Avengers team had no idea what actually happen there, all they knew it was Romanov and Barton's dirty little secret. And now mine too. 

"Come on mate! Don't be a bad sport!" I called after Clint still smiling. "Oh right, Sarah these are Tony,Thor, Sam, Steve, Jane and Darcy are over there on the couch. Guys this is my friend Agent Sarah Ford" she motioned through as everyone nodded or in Tony's case winked. "Pleasure to meet you all" I said flashing a genuine smile at all of them. I knew them all already though, I had done my homework and worked on all of the files and records that MI6 had on each individual.

"Nice to meet you ma'am" Steve said in his old fashioned manner which immediately made me smile a bit too much. I had noticed something in his eyes, they were a bit misty almost nostalgic? I wondered if they had been talking about something sad in particular before I came in. "Lady Sarah it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, any friend of Lady Natasha is an ally to Asgard!" his voice boomed as I did a small curtsy and said "The pleasure is mine Thor." 

"Come on, I'll show you to your room" Tasha said with a smile and I knew she had missed me just as much as I missed her.

**Steve's POV**

I saw Natasha's friend and thought she was cute, there was something in her though, a resemblance to someone I thought I knew. I couldn't shake this feeling until it hit me rock hard. She had only spoken a couple of words but I knew what it was. Her voice, her accent; it was just like Peggy's and that hit me hard. I felt my eyes get misty as I greeted her and then stepped back and looked out the window. Her hair and her voice reminded me of Peggy a bit too soon after the passing last month; I thought I had been at peace with that, she had lived a full happy life but Sarah made it hit right where it hurt all over again. When the girls left I felt Sam's hand curl around my shoulder and he simply asked "Punching bag?" He knew me too well.


	2. Confessions

**Natasha's POV**

"Ms. Romanov, there's a Ms. Anna Karenina in the lobby that has requested to see you. Should I let her up?" I was slightly startled by the sudden interruption of my meditation time, JARVIS patched receptionist's request through my earpiece. "YES, let her up to the Avengers common floor immediately!" I said a bit too aggressively, I must have startled her but I really didn't give it a second thought as I was completely overjoyed by Sarah's visit. Gosh I hadn't heard her code name in 6 years...  

I quickly made my way to the Avenger common room and called out "Meeting NOW! There's someone coming that you guys need to meet!". Clint dropped down from his nest with a questioning glance and I leaned into his ear and whispered "Anna Karenina"; he understood immediately and grinned waiting with the others who looked slightly alarmed as I waited for the elevator to open impatiently.  I could feel how tense everyone got as the elevator door open with a tiny ding and I grinned at my dear Sarah Ford. 

I waited for her to open up her arms so I could hug her, I hadn't realized how dearly I missed her and she whispered "Hello, old friend." I let her go and faked my anger at our almost decade old joke, I was only a couple of moths older than her. "Who are you calling old?" we giggled instantly.  "I haven't seen you since..." I paused and then we both said "Budapest!" I knew Clint would get annoyed at the fact that there were now two girls who could bring up memories of that time. 

After getting the introductions out of the way I stole her off the group to interrogate her, even if she missed me just as much as I messed her there had to be a reason for her to come here and she better tell me. She is my friend, but she is also a highly trained foreign agent who could probably beat me in a fight if she kept practicing after I left her. We arrived at my apartment where we sat in the living area, we sat there staring at different corners of the apartment until she finally took a deep breath and confessed.

"Tasha, you guys are my mission. MI6 needs information on the Avengers, I think I know why... After the events you witnessed and were part of in DC I suspected that Hydra's agents weren't only part of the U.S. agencies but also managed to infect our branch in the U.K. I am to find out all your weaknesses and file full reports for our division of 'Internal Affairs'; I was so sure that I was working for the good agency but there have been so many agents who have been fired for 'indiscipline' meaning they questioned the direct orders issued. I... I don't know who to trust." her voice broke a little as she gained her composure again and looked me straight in the eyes. "I know you and Clint, you are what is left of my family and the only people I would trust my life with so I need you to help me, I am going to cleanse MI6 of HYDRA but first they must believe that I have not discovered them. I will file fake reports with bits of truth so they can't find me out, once I have 'completed' my mission I will strike and take whomever I can. I need you to help me with the Avengers, I need details that are believable but not real weaknesses, the rest is up to me." When she finished I could feel how relieved she was to confess herself to me and I knew beyond any shadow of doubt that she was being completely truthful, as much as she flattered herself about being a good liar it was the gleam in her eyes that let me know she was telling me the absolute truth, all of it. 

"I will help you on one condition, you have to let them in on it, I have lied enough when it was needed and apparently I lied for the wrong people, now that they trust me again I can't betray them. If they accept then I'm with you all the way, Sarah." I knew that she was relieved that I had not blatantly refused her, but there was also a shadow of hurt in her eyes; we had been so close but she nodded understanding why I couldn't compromise the people who have now become my new family. 

"All righty oh, lets get this show on the road then, the sooner I ask them the better."

**Tony's POV**

When Spider Woman mentioned this was a secret agent friend of her's all the red flags in my brain shot up, whomever this woman was she was clearly respected by both Birdman and Ice Queen which in my head translated to fucking dangerous. I immediately got to my lab and started  a full background check of this 'Sarah Ford' woman, the results surprised me, not that I would let her know though. Her file was a bit difficult to hack but JARVIS being the Brit that he is got it sorted out and out came the truth about Sarah Jane Ford the most successful agent in U.K. history. Shit. This woman had disarmed a complete rebel unit in the forests of Colombia when she was 20 years old. 

"JARVIS are you sure this is not some made up file?" I asked hoping we had stumbled onto decoy files and that the woman who was just a floor under Pepper's current location wasn't the efficient killer her file painted her to be. 

"No, Sir these appear to be the official files on Ms. Ford, the firewalls were difficult enough to be official security measures." JARVIS replied spiking my discomfort at the presence of yet another trained killer in the tower. 

"Sir, Ms. Romanov has requested all the avengers and guest residents get to the Common Floor for an announcement." JARVIS announced as I went to the elevator.

I got to the floor and quickly stepped protectively in front of Pepper, if this spy lady turns out to be another psycho killer she will not be able to lay a single finger on Pepper. I almost lost her last year to Aldrich Killian and his Legion of lava-jerks. 

Sarah cleared her throat and told us all of the story. What her mission was, she showed us the files and the evidence that she had compiled linking MI6 to HYDRA which clearly struck a chord with Capsicle who moved closer to examine the HYDRA files. She was telling us everything which made me a little less uneasy, but she could just as easily be playing with us. No one tells the truth like that, at least not in my experience. I couldn't ignore the look of complete sincerity in her face, how her brown eyes showed no flashes of conceal. Damn it, she has Bambi eyes, wide and innocent, made me distrust her even more. I kept reminding myself that she was a trained spy, she had spent years lying professionally for the last 15 years. 

"Let me get this straight, Queen Elizabeth over here wants our permission to actively spy on us, make reports and send them to an agency that she says has been infiltrated by Hydra... No one else has a problem with that? No one can see how extremely fast this can blow up in our faces?" I said furiously.

"I can vouch for her Stark she is one of the best and a good person, how is she different from me when all this S.H.I.E.L.D shit came about? She has realized what her agency has done and wants to do something about it, listen to her, look at the files of evidence she has." Natasha replied in her always composed tone.

"It's still fishy, what if she fucks up? There are people here we love, Pepper, Jane, Darcy, don't you think these reports won't include them?" I couldn't manage my temper as well as I know I should have,  but damn it, I'm not inviting a security threat into my home and into my family. 

"Mr. Stark I completely understand and that is why I am asking, if I can't produce any reports I will be cut off the agency and it will be a lot harder for me to take them down. I propose that you and JARVIS and everyone else if they want submit the information they wish and you can proof read them if you need to. I don't need to stay in the tower but they know I'm Natasha's friend and will immediately suspect that I'm up to something if I don't stay. Either way its your tower and your rules, I'm being honest and telling you everything because it would be a dumb ass move to trick the most powerful fighters on Earth and having them find me out, no matter my intentions. You can have security guards on me, JARVIS cameras anything you need to reassure yourself, but nothing can make you doubt that I am telling you all I know and that I am trying to eliminate a threat that has been around far too fucking long." Sarah said. I knew she knew that I couldn't doubt her honesty but that sure as hell didn't reassure me at all. 

"Fine, but be damn sure I'll be watching you." I said dryly looking her straight in the eye and knowing that she understood my threat, I also saw a hint of gratitude, I guess she thought I was on board the HYDRA hating. 

"I'm in, taking down HYDRA since 1943 and still going." of course Captain Patriot had to be in for the HYDRA destroying, I also suspect he has a thing for British Brunettes... huh... Maybe Captain Righteousness will get a a real girlfriend.

Slowly, everyone agreed to be part of Sarah's mission, I looked at Pepper and she gave me one of her trademark 'I will do what is right Tony' looks which of course got me uneasy again. I made a mental not to carefully read any reports that specially mentioned Pepper. Nobody not even fucking HYDRA will ever take her away from me.

Once everyone started filling out or otherwise busying themselves, Sarah motioned me forward to talk more intimately and directly to me. "Mr. Stark I appreciate you letting me stay and I want to let you know that I understand what is at risk, believe me if there was any other way I would not be here right now. If you want I can stay here in the living room where JARVIS has access to the cameras so there is full surveillance of me, also, heres my cellphone and tablet they have everything, you can have JARVIS check them too." she said to me softly. I knew right then that she was ok, not because of the information but the act of completely exposing herself to full surveillance showed she was willing to sacrifice things to gain my trust and, well, Natasha and Clint seem to know her well. But I'm not letting her know that. Yet. 

"I'll sent some pillows and covers for you, we'll see how this goes." I said turning away and heading to my lab.


	3. Cuppa

**Sarah's POV**

Everyone had left the common floor for their own appartments, Tasha and Clint had been the last to leave; slightly angry at me sleeping on a couch instead of one of the many spare appartments in the tower. I told them it had been my idea but they wouldn't listen. Clint had reached the elevator when I caught Nat in a hug and asked in her ear "Have you and Tweety Bird tied the knot yet?" Smiling my cheeky grin I analysed her surprised face before she could compose herself I let out a small gleeful cry. 

"Oh dear heavens, you have! But I guess you haven't told anyone... Well anyway night night sweetie!" I didn't let her reply before I shuved her into the elevator as Clint passed a questioning glance from Tasha to me and back to her. 

The sheets and pillows had arrived in a basket and I had set up camp on the sofa that looked over the city so I could fall asleep watching the New York City skyline. Unfortunately, the sofa was too soft, there was no support for my back and I kept on dipping into the couch in strange ways. I sat up and prepared sheets and pushed the pillows onto the floor to make myself a bed atop the thick carpet. 

By the time I actually got everthing set up I had managed to rile myself to complete awakedness and as tired and jet lagged as I should have been I found myself wondering into the kitchen to make myself a cuppa. 'I really hope Stark has some good tea in here' I thought to myself finding a cabinet full of tea, some familiar and some exotic. I made a mental note to ask Stark if I could try the chinese jasmin tea later, but for tonight I had settled for some herbal peppermint tea to try and relax myself into unconsciousness. 

I plugged in an electric kettle so I wouldn't startle anyone who might live on this floor and not be used to the whistle of a boiling hot kettle at 1:30 am. Finally after boiling the water and steeping my tea I settled into the couch and sat there calmly sipping and breathing in the peppermint. 

**Steve's POV**

I sat up on my bead, hair swamped in sweat from the nightmares, I had seen Bucky fall, I had crashed into the icy water, then I saw The Winter Soldier. All these images had flashed in a constant loop until I could not take it anymore and decided that sleeping was not going to help any when my mind couldn't rest.

I got up and put a shirt on and walked out of my apartment intent on going to the gym, I was surprised when I saw the silhouette of Sarah's curls as she sat on the couch apparently looking out the massive windows at the skyline.  

"It's real late ma'am why are you still awake?" I tried to ask her without startling her, but just by being there I apparently scared the daylights out of her. She put down her cup on the coffe table and looked at me. 

"Hello, Captain Rogers I didn't hear you, I am afraid I am a bad guest, I am unable to sleep on the sofa because it is in fact too soft..." she said half shyly half teasingly.

"I am sorry startle you, but it seems we have the same issue, I also find it hard to sleep in beds that are so soft I feel like I am being sucked into the inside of a marshmellow." I confessed as I moved closer and saw the bed arrangement on top of the carpet.

"Hang on, you didn't get an apartment?" I asked clearly annoyed at Stark's lack of hospitality and gentleman manners when it came to taking care of ladies. I know I am old fashioned but would it kill him to be a gentleman once in a while? Probably.

"No, no, non of that this is more my idea that way theres easy surveillance on me and theres no need to annoy people asking them to move it from place to place..." sha babbled trying to sooth me. 

"If ya can't sleep I recommend you come and sit with me and have a cuppa tea to relax." She said once more trying to passify me, I must have looked like I needesdone because she didn't wait for a reply before she got a steaming mug in my hand. 

"Thank you ma'am, and please call me Steve." I said cause I didn't really likr to be 'Captain Rogers' at home as well as at work. 

"I'll cut ya a deal, I call you Steve if you call me Sarah, all of this 'ma'am' has me feeling like I'm ancient!" She said it with a lot of color in her voice that suddenly made her youth seen more obvious, she smiled beautifully. She had one of those smiles that broke out like the sun in between storm clouds, almost literally a smile of hope. 

"You got yourself a deal Sarah!" I said drinking slowly fron my mug until I started to feel my lids grow heavy, I had rested my head on the back of the sofa as Sarah and I talked for hours, everything sort of blurred togather.

I woke up because of a strange noise, it sounded like... stiffled giggles? It took me a little vut more than I am proud to admit to remember that I had not spent the night at my apartment but that at some point in the night I had drifted off to sleep in th couch next to Sarah. Sarah's cheek was on top of my hair as I realised that I had uncosciously lulled my head to the side whilst nodding off and ended up on her shoulder. 

"Shh you'll wake them up!" Sam whispered and I heard the click of a camera. The subtle click kicked Sarah into action as she tore herself from the sofa and summersaulted over the coffee table to take cover. 

"Oh gosh I'm sorry I startled you, are you all right Sarah?" Sam asked as he started towards her, she got up and assed the room a way that I had only seeb once before. The Winter Soldier's eyes made that shifty pattern whenever he would assess a room or batrlefield situation only difference was that Sarah's assessment was not the result of years of torture but years of practice. 


	4. Work Out

**Sarah's POV**

Bloody hell, what was that? I had never been comfortable with strangers, now it turns out that as Captain Rogers and I chatted away last night I was comfortable enough to close my eyes and dose off. We basically talked about small stuff like favorite colors and food, places we have visited... When I heard the click my brain shifted into mission mode, my eyes flashed open and I somersaulted over the coffee table for cover, I realized where I was and got up assessing the room. 4 people, two super humans two humans, nearest exit bathroom and elevator. I grabbed my bag and bolted for the bathroom, I knew I was safe and there was no immediate threat but years of being trained and in constant danger had made me into a machine when taken by surprise. "JARVIS ask Mr. Stark if I may use his gym." I asked knowing that the best way to calm down and switch off the 'assassin' mode. "Ms. Ford you have been granted access, the elevator is ready when you are" JARVIS replied as I changed into training gear. I opened the door of the bathroom and heard Sam apologize as I made my way to the elevator. I couldn't say anything, my brain had blocked all emotions and Tasha saw it and explained to Sam as the elevator closed and made its way to the gym. 

I felt myself trembling like a loaded spring waiting to be released, I started wrapping my hands in the elevator so I could exit and straight away hit the punching bag. I released all of my energy on that punching bag, kicking and hitting in every style of combat I had mastered in the last decade. I only slowed when I heard someone enter the gym, it was Natasha, I knew it because of her trademark walk, feline and graceful. She was dressed in her training gear and I knew what she was going to say, but I let her ask anyway.

"Care to spar?" she asked moving towards the sparring  mats in the middle of the gym. "You believe the gym can take it? you know what happen last time..." I said reminiscing that time we broke through a wall in a small gym in Lithuania, (to be fair, those were cheap badly constructed walls). "That's what Stark is for!" she said humorously, I granted a small smile, getting ready to fight heron top of the mat. 

"Red or you break any toys you replace them!" Stark's voice sounded through the speaker system in the gym. I smiled but didn't let it his statement break me out of my mode. 

Nat and I circled each other assessing. She made the first move, like she always did, her left hand coming up to hit me; I easily dodged her and tapped her shoulder like we used to when training. Back in the day we wouldn't hit but tap to show where a hit would have gone but not cause harm so the training could continue. She tried again to hit but with her right hand again I dodged but she threw out her leg to try and sweep me off my feet, I back flipped out of the way and prepared for my first attack. She knew that I used to start out with kicks, but a lot had changed since the last  time we trained together, instead I swiftly tried for a punch in the abdomen, not too hard but enough to surprise her enough to try and pin her down. As she approached the ground I knew she had a tendency to roll left instead of right, so I fell on her left side and stopped her escape, winning our little spar. I got up and offered my hand, she took it and looked me straight in the eye. 

"Someone has been busy learning new tricks." she said both impressed and a little frustrated at me being the one who beat her. This was the first time I got to beat her so quickly, much like the first few times she had beat me, putting my ass straight on the mat in mere seconds. "Wanna go again?" she asked with a devilish look in her eyes, I knew she had studied me closely, I now lacked some of the element of surprise. "Sure" answered grinning menacingly at her, this time I let myself relax into it and let my instincts take over. I had trained so much, and so brutally that there was no way Tasha could beat me now,  I just shouldn't get too cocky about it. It took me slightly longer to pin her down again but eventually she hit the mat and I offered to get her up again, she was pissed. Her eyes betrayed her anger at being beat again, I winked at her as she smiled slightly and made her way to the shooting range. I thought about following her but she would probably shoot me if she knew that my aim had improved too. I decided I would leave the shooting range for tomorrow so I could annoy Clint. I left for the showers satisfied with my performance.

**Bruce's POV**

I woke up on top of my work table having dosed off on top of the current predicament I was trying to solve, some of my notes had gotten drooled on accidentally. Rubbing my eyes I made my way to my room to freshen up, shower and change. Once that was taken care of I got into the elevator and thought about making my way to the tea cabinet for a morning mug. The elevator door open and I saw everyone gathered about the TV screen, I made my cup before I would make my way to see what all the fuss was about.

Huh, someone raided my tea supply, must have been our new British guest. No one liked tea in the tower so the tea cabinet was pretty much mine exclusively, I made a mental note to offer her some of the more exotic tea available, Tony spoiled me with Indian and Chinese special mixes. She had taken some of the generic brand peppermint tea, must have been an insult to her English heritage drinking such cheap knock-off stuff, I'll definitely let her know she's welcome to anything she chooses from there. 

"Bruce you have been staring at the tea pantry for a while, is everything all right?" Pepper asked behind me, I smiled shyly at her to reassure her as I nodded. I had always admired her kindness and concern for others. "Whats on TV, please tell me there's not another alien attack." I asked as the sudden thought started to worry me. 

"No, no, Sarah was startled awake this morning and apparently has some very hardwired training in her brain, Natasha explained that her mind flips her 'danger' switch whenever she is in an unknown situation so she fled for the gym and Natasha is now getting ready to spar with her. Wanna watch?" she said as she made her way to the giant screen and joined the others staring intently at the screen. Stark had patched though to the TV live feed of the gym for everyone to see. And boy were we all impressed, we had all sworn Natasha to be the best fighter out of all of us, but watching Sarah go was just awe inspiring. She read every move Natasha was about to make and countered it perfectly. It was graceful and beautiful and pretty much the peak of non altered human performance.  I looked over at Steve who was staring at the screen, his mouth open and clearly impressed. There was a hint of something in his eyes that I recognized immediately.

"You like her don't you?" I asked Steve in a whisper so I wouldn't catch anyone else's interest as he stared at the screen intently. He blushed the deepest scarlet I had ever seen, he answered me just as low, "Whats not to like?". He looked away smiling. Huh, maybe things will work out for Cap, getting a long overdue girlfriend... All we needed now was an excuse to set them up. 

Halloween as a couple of days away, maybe Stark's Halloween bash would be the perfect time to get those two alone. I've never been good at these kinds of things so I enlisted the help of the other Avengers, (except Captain Rogers of course) Natasha was particularly interested in the Halloween plan and started plotting the meet up.


	5. Halloween

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: powerful fun and if you don't want to read it it's fine cause this is just relationship building so that the next next chapter is contextualized. You can skip if you wanna I don't mind, you're free to make your choices. Have a nice day!

**Natasha's POV**  

Bruce, Tony, Pepper, Clint and I had hatched the perfect match making plan for Sarah and Steve. With Tony's Halloween rave I had gotten the greatest idea ever; I did all the research I needed to arrange Sarah's outfit and hair. Bruce was the man I chose to be in charge of getting Steve into his outfit and making sure that his hair was slicked down and parted properly. 

"OK, we need Ice Age and Bond to get together, he's been alone too long and this waiting for clues of Soviet Super Star's whereabouts are starting to get him riled up." Tony said, and we all agreed.

_After the whole crap in DC I had gone deep to create new covers, I was out for six and a half months till I circled back to Stark and Pepper, Steve and Sam had gone from lead to lead for eight months before they came to the tower. Steve had been in the tower two weeks before JARVIS informed him that Margaret Carter had died. Steve's eyes watered and one tear had fallen down his cheek, that was all he had allowed before his eyes had caught Tony's in a silent plea. Tony got on his phone and arranged for the jet to be ready ASAP..._

_Only a month or so after that Sarah had arrived and I saw it in his eyes, sad and alone._

Tony looked up and scanned the Avengers Common Room. "Where's Fabio?" He asked before JARVIS told him about the midnight trip to Asgard. It looked like Stark's Halloween party was going to be a bit thin in terms of Avengers guests, Thor was gone to Asgard for nobody knows how long, Jane had taken Darcy to some crazy place in Northern Alaska and taken the head of Stark Security with them for protection, so Hill was out of the guest list. Sam had gone back to DC to retrieve some documents, he decided to drive, at that, Happy insisted on taking him. That meant it was only Clint, Tony, Pepper, Bruce, Steve, Sarah and I were going to the Club Stark Halloween Event. We continued our plotting until we heard the elevator ding. We all stopped talking and glared at the elevator. Out came a blushing Steve and a giggling Sarah.

"What were you two up to in there?" Clint asked as he raised his eyebrows mischievously. Steve blushed a deeper scarlet, dangerously approaching purple.

"Nothing" He said making his way to the kitchen and stuck his head into the refrigerator. Sarah smiled brightly and spotted Pepper in the room, she moved towards us and asked a bit louder than she would usually:

"Say, Pepper what is the Stark Industries Policy on Sexual Harassment?" She hadn't finished the last word when Steve's head banged the top of the refrigerator as he had straightened up. All of the people in the room snickered. Steve was once more blushing, his embarrassment radiated from him filling the room. Pepper smiled and asked

"Why do you need me to e-mail you a form to fill and turn into HR?" she was just barely stiffing the urge to laugh.

"Nah, I just wanna be prepared in case I gotta file a complaint." She said with a wink as she went back into the elevator, I noticed she swayed her hips more than she would normally and Steve followed her with his eyes. Huh, I guess America's poster boy for innocence isn't what he appears to be.

"Was America's sweetheart misbehaving?" Tony asked wiggling his eyebrows at Steve and I couldn't help but smile. 

"Shut up." Steve muttered rubbing the back of his neck. I think our plan is taking off even without too much intervention from us.

**Steve's POV**

I had been working out in the gym, Sarah had been using the machines in the opposite area of the gym, I could see her backside from where I was and tried my best not to be too obvious in my appreciation of an honestly gorgeous behind. I shifted the angle at which I was punching the bag so I could escape the temptation of staring. She was starting to grow on me, that night I had gotten to know the trivial things in her life, liking Thai food, disliking reality TV shows, listening to music. Ever since that night he had actually wanted to get to know more about her, she was delightful and sure, her looks had charmed him from the beginning. She had gotten off the elliptical and into the gym showers as I took a deep breath and went to shower in the men's section. I had gotten used to army two minute showers so I was out before she was. I stayed, waiting for her to accompany her in the elevator. 

She was out in 15 minutes and smiled at me as we got into the elevator. She turned to me and smiled, I saw something in her eyes, a gleam of malice.

"Did you enjoy your view?" She asked me and I was so embarrassed, oh gosh she had caught me... I lifted my arms, I was going to apologize, she turned right when I was lifting my arms. My hands grazed her breasts. Oh gosh, and I thought I couldn't blush redder. Her eyes bulged and all I could stumble out was "I... I... I..." I had suddenly become a broken record trying to get an apology out through the embarrassment. 

She turned and giggled just as the elevator dinged and opened the door. If someone could die from shame...

**Bruce's POV**

It was the day we had all been plotting for. I had his uniform, a WWII army uniform, an exact replica of the one he had worn previously. I had also gotten him some gel to style his hair just like Natasha had ordered me to do. I knocked on his apartment door, smiling under the fake white mustache as he took in my costume and laughed. 

"I should have guessed this would be your costume. Whats in the bag?" he asked me, stepping inside I handed him the bag and followed the script that  Natasha had told me to follow. 

"Change." I said keeping my tone as neutral as possible. He looked at me suspiciously and got to his room to change. I heard him laugh, he came out fully dressed, His hair parted and styled 1940s style. 

"I hadn't realized I could not skip Halloween with Tony here could I?" He asked me and I just nodded and motioned him to follow me to the elevator so we could go to the Common Room. He looked at me trying to figure out why I was so mysterious, and frankly I would have put his mind at ease had I not been threatened by Natasha. They were obviously not physical threats, she knew well enough that fight she could never beat, but it had more to do with making items disappear randomly and a shady threat to setting fire to my teas stash. I had seen deep into her eyes, she would do it. When the doors of the elevator open I got out and saw a rather pissed off Clint who had obviously been enduring Tony's mockery. Natasha had probably had worked her charms on Clint or hid his other costume cause he was now wearing tights and a Robin Hood costume, both Steve and I laughed and Clint fumed. Pepper slapped the back of Tony's head. She was wearing a beautiful white dress that was draped stylishly around her making her look like a Grecian goddess with the gold laurel leaves at each side of her head. I complimented her quietly and she thanked me with all the grace I had come to expect from her. Tony wrapped a hand around her waist and I laughed as I saw his costume. He had an air force jumpsuit on and aviator glasses, his other hand held his helmet. 

"Maverick, really?" I said as Steve looked at him and proudly announced

"I understood that reference, thats from Top Gun isn't it?" Tony rolled his eyes and I nodded, I knew what it meant to him being able to catch pop culture references and not be left  out as much as he did in the beginning. Just as Tony was preparing a witty remark the elevator doors open to reveal Natasha in her black uniform, the only alteration she had done was to add  a black tail to the back. She had a black dot on the tip of her nose, three whiskers on each cheek and a pair of kitty ears on her head. She looked a bit pissed and I guessed the make up was not her idea. She shot one warning look at Barton before stepping out and letting us get the full view of Sarah.  She looked like she had been pulled out of a time machine, her hair pulled up halfway, an exact replica of the style that was popular in the 1940s. She wore a flattering ivory with black polka dots dress and bright red lips. Everyone was stunned; Steve was the first one to speak.

"You look beautiful ma'am." he said simply and smiled a sweet smile at her. 

"Thank you soldier." She looked up at him in a look that I could only describe as stunning. She had managed to shut Tony up and that was impressive. Recovering from this Tony cleared his throat and said:

"Lets get this party started, come on my goddess, Robin Hoody bring pussy cat, Einstein and the time machine duo along please. Ready for some fun?" Tony asked as the elevator started upwards. Stark Club wasn't really my scene but Stark had reserved a lounge away from the dance floor and had a good view of the balcony, after a couple of hours everyone came to sit with me all looking exhausted. The only people missing were Steve and Sarah looking around we spotted them near the elevator. 

"Guess Cap's got a type, feisty British brunettes, who would have thought?" Clint mumbled to himself smirking. We all snickered seeing Steve's hand on the small of her back before guiding her to the elevator.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys liked it, please comment on anything you'd like to see or things I could change to make this a more enjoyable read.

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own any of the characters their copyrights all belong to Marvel or something.


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